My 2004 reds had a lot of powdery mildew on them and after culling half, I
made wine, hoping the levels would be low enough to tolerate. They were not,
and after a year in the barrels (15 and 30 gals), there is a distinct mildew
taste. I hate to throw this all away, and am wondering if there is a fining
process which might remove some of this. Other than the mildewey aftertaste,
the wine is pretty good.
Some of the ideas I have considered are, heavy gelatin fining, followed by
bentonite, then perhaps adding some concentrate (from a kit) and a little
water to restore the lost flavor and also dilute the stuff a bit. I'm
assuming the fermentation would restart. Or maybe I should just throw it
away and forget 2004. Any thoughts? I sure would appreciate some help on
this! (And if anyone thinks organic grape growing is practical, I have an
opinion to share)

"Darwin Vander Stelt" > wrote in message
...
> My 2004 reds had a lot of powdery mildew on them and after culling half, I
> made wine, hoping the levels would be low enough to tolerate. They were
> not,
> and after a year in the barrels (15 and 30 gals), there is a distinct
> mildew
> taste. I hate to throw this all away, and am wondering if there is a
> fining
> process which might remove some of this. Other than the mildewey
> aftertaste,
> the wine is pretty good.
> Some of the ideas I have considered are, heavy gelatin fining, followed by
> bentonite, then perhaps adding some concentrate (from a kit) and a little
> water to restore the lost flavor and also dilute the stuff a bit. I'm
> assuming the fermentation would restart. Or maybe I should just throw it
> away and forget 2004. Any thoughts?

I'm afraid your wine is past the point of retrieval. You might be able to
reduce it slightly by bentonite fining, but once you get that flavor in
there it's there to stay.

There's more bad news. Those barrels are probably history too. You _might_
be able to save them with percarbonate, but I wouldn't bet on it. Sorry.
:^(

Tom S

> I'm afraid your wine is past the point of retrieval. You might be able to
> reduce it slightly by bentonite fining, but once you get that flavor in
> there it's there to stay.
>
> There's more bad news. Those barrels are probably history too. You
_might_
> be able to save them with percarbonate, but I wouldn't bet on it. Sorry.
> :^(
>
> Tom S

Thanks Tom. I was afraid of that.

Time to fire up the 'recipe machine' !

For non-Waltons fans - 'still' ;-)


"Darwin Vander Stelt" > wrote in message
...
>
>> I'm afraid your wine is past the point of retrieval. You might be able
>> to
>> reduce it slightly by bentonite fining, but once you get that flavor in
>> there it's there to stay.
>>
>> There's more bad news. Those barrels are probably history too. You
> _might_
>> be able to save them with percarbonate, but I wouldn't bet on it. Sorry.
>> :^(
>>
>> Tom S
>
> Thanks Tom. I was afraid of that.
>
>